Mistake enables Boyd to push Blades to bottom

GARY Speed's first game as manager of Sheffield United ended in a narrow defeat at Middlesbrough yesterday.

Scottish international striker Kris Boyd scored the only goal of the afternoon following a mistake by Blades captain Chris Morgan.

The result leaves the Blades, who appointed Speed after parting company with manager Kevin Blackwell the previous weekend, at the bottom of the Championship table with one point from the first three games.

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"No one likes to be down there but the league table doesn't worry me at the moment," said Speed.

"One thing I know I have got is a set of players who are willing to work hard. With their attitude and commitment, hopefully, we won't be down there for long."

Boro manager Gordon Strachan, a former team-mate of Speed at Leeds United in the early Nineties, admitted that the televised game had not been good on the eye.

"I hope there was a good film on the other side, maybe a good John Wayne film?" he quipped at the post-match press conference.

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"It was a case of two nervous teams who had picked up a point after two games and both looked desperate not to get beat."

Only 14,633 supporters attended the game, including 724 for the Blades, and the gate was over 7,000 down on Boro's opening-day defeat against Ipswich Town.

Strachan blamed the low turn-out on both the live television coverage and the tough economic climate on Teesside.

"Unemployment is huge in a place like ours so you're not going to get people turning up to a game that is on television," he said.

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"I have been looking at TV all weekend and there are big gaps (in the stands) everywhere. It is happening in the Premiership too.

"Only footballers seem to have money. It's a business that has completely ignored the recession in terms of wages.

"We're doing a press conference now and games are still on TV left, right and centre. I think people might be picking and choosing their games more. When to go, when not to go. Everybody will be down this year."

Blades manager Speed, meanwhile, refused to blame defender Morgan for the defeat despite his slip opening the door for Middlesbrough striker Boyd.

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"You can't legislate for a mistake like that," said Speed. "You can do all the work you want. 'Morgs' has been brilliant since I have been at the club and, for every one of those, he will win us 10 games. There is no blame on him.

"I am disappointed with the result," he added.

"We limited Middlesbrough to very few chances and that was very encouraging.

"The downside was we didn't create a great deal which is something we have to work on.

"I tried to get the lads more confident on the ball and passing the ball and I think we did that in parts – but it's about results and that passing needs to progress into making chances," he added.